A male body is found in a burned-out van. During their investigation, detectives Karow (Mark Waschke) and Rubin (Meret Becker) realize that there have already been similar cases. Is there a serial killer around here? The trail leads the two to a fertility clinic in Wannsee, because all the victims come from artificial insemination. The directors, a lesbian couple, caused a stir in the 80s and were pioneers in modern fertility medicine. What not everyone liked: An attack was once made on the head of the laboratory, Irene Wohlleben (Almut Zilcher). The perpetrator at the time (Christoph Bach) is still behaving strangely today.
Since Meret Becker and Mark Waschke took over the capital crime thriller in March 2015, the Berlin flair has come across very well. “Your name is Habinger” also manages to draw an authentic picture of the city. Many recordings were made around and in the Alexanderplatz subway station, capturing typical everyday life in Berlin – including a street musician who resembles the rapper Romano. And the acting performances are right across the board.
The outrageous coincidences that connect the private environment of the investigators with the case. Above all, the commissioner candidate Anna Feil (Carolyn Genzkow) has the misfortune to find herself in numerous implausible situations. When the first suspicion falls on a mentally ill person, the investigative methods become so drastic and absurd that the viewer can only shake his head. In addition, the thriller is too full: It’s about the actually highly sensitive topic of wanting to have children, about paranoia, about medical power, about the personal fates of the investigators – but everything is treated as an action number, it lacks depth.
Are a bright spot in the absurd plot. There is a rough tone between Karow and Rubin, but the two can also make each other laugh. “Don’t always be such an ass,” Rubin comments to her colleague, for example, when he tries to hide the death of his son from a father.
Anyone who likes Berlin as a city and is not deterred by exaggerated psychological investigations can tune in. Everyone else can skip this “crime scene”.
The “Tatort” episode “Dein Name sei Harbinger” first aired on December 10, 2017. ARD repeats the case on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at 8:15 p.m.
